UTICA, NY – The Utica Baseball team hosted Russell Sage College on Wednesday afternoon, April 15th, in a high-scoring offensive battle, ultimately falling by a score of 18-14 at Pioneer Field.

The orange and blue had the bats going on during the midweek meeting, as they racked up 14 runs on 14 hits and 10 RBIs. Leading the pack was the pair of Kody Czternastek (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Ryan Smith (Wappingers Falls, NY/Beacon High School). The Pioneers' leadoff man and stellar rookie each gathered a quartet of base knocks, as Czternastek also grabbed and RBI and four runs scored, while the third basemen Smith totaled a run scored, and RBI, and a walk.

Utica came out swinging early, answering an unearned run in the top of the first with a four-run bottom half. Czternastek sparked the rally with a leadoff single and later scored, while Mike Rockwell (Liverpool, NY/Cicero) roped an RBI double. Lance Berger (Lindenhurst, NY/Saint Anthony's) followed with another RBI double, and Ty Montrose (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) capped the inning with a run-scoring groundout to give the Pioneers a 4-1 lead.

The Pioneers kept the pressure on in the second inning. After Smith reached base, Czternastek delivered a clutch RBI triple to the gap and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Micah Fiorello (Brooktondale, NY/Ithaca), extending the lead to 6-3.

However, Russell Sage responded in a big way in the third inning. A three-run home run highlighted a five-run frame that flipped the game and gave the visitors an 8-6 advantage. Utica answered with a run in the bottom half, as Smith drove in Montrose to trim the deficit to 8-7.

The back-and-forth continued into the middle innings. The Empire 8 unbeaten Sage added two runs in the fifth, but the Pioneers remained within striking distance before the game took a decisive turn in the sixth. The Gators erupted for seven runs in the inning, capitalizing on hits, walks, and defensive miscues to stretch the lead to 17-7.

Utica refused to go away quietly.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Pioneers began to chip back into the deficit. Rockwell delivered a two-run double, and Nathan Pcola (Cassville, NY/Mount Markham High School) added a sacrifice RBI to cut the lead to 17-10. Utica continued to apply pressure late, scoring twice in the eighth inning—highlighted by Berger's second double of the day—and adding two more in the ninth to make it 18-14.

Offensively, Czternastek was outstanding, adding a triple on top of his aforementioned tallies, continuing his strong season at the top of the lineup. Rockwell drove in three runs with a pair of doubles, while Berger also collected two doubles and an RBI. Montrose also contributed a run and an RBI.

On the mound, Matthew Prestopnik (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls High School) took the loss after allowing seven runs (five earned) over 2.1 innings. Connor Ford (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) and Brendan Berry (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) handled the middle innings before Pcola finished the game in relief.

Despite totaling 14 hits and scoring 14 runs, the Pioneers were unable to overcome Russell Sage's 20-hit offensive output in the 18-14 defeat.

The loss moves the Pioneers to 14-12 on the season and 5-7 in Empire 8 play as they look to tighten things up defensively and on the mound heading into their next stretch of games against Houghton this weekend. The team will honor its seniors ahead of the Saturday doubleheader, with the ceremony scheduled for 11:15 AM at Pioneer Field.